RB Leipzig has slipped after the crashing out in the Champions League also in the Bundesliga. Four days after the 0:7 debacle at Manchester City, the DFB Cup winner lost 0:1 (0:0) at relegation-threatened VfL Bochum and lost important points in the race to return to the premier class. Bochum gained a little breathing space in the relegation battle with the first competitive game victory against the Saxons.
Erhan Masovic (48.) scored by head for the Westphalians, who celebrated after two home defeats in a row again a threesome in the Ruhrstadion. Leipzig did not win the ninth duel with VfL for the first time.
Compared to the Manchester gossip, RB coach Marco Rose had changed his team to four positions: Mohamed Simakan and Marcel Halstenberg filled the full-back positions, Yussuf Poulsen and Andre Silva the attack. VfL coach Thomas Letsch, who had made his Bochum debut in the 0-4 loss in the first leg, left his starting eleven unchanged after the 2-0 win in Cologne.
The Leipzig tried from the beginning to raise their combination game, but initially could not cope with the duel hardness of the Bochum at all. VfL, on the other hand, barely managed to bring their fast wingers Takuma Asano and Christopher Antwi-Adjei into play. So it took until the 22nd minute before Timo Werner managed the first shot on goal, which clearly missed his target.
A free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai far over the goal (33.) was the second, equally harmless conclusion of the guests. Bochum defended concentrated, left little space and won the majority of the duels. Leipzig tried frequently via Halstenberg and Werner on the left, but without success. For 66 percent possession, the cup winner could not buy anything at half-time – no real goal chance was up to that point.
Shortly after the restart, things got even worse for the favourites: After a header by Philipp Hofmann, Janis Blaswich parried an Asano header, but then Masovic headed in – it was VfL's first Bundesliga goal against RB in the fourth duel.
Leipzig reacted with increased attacking efforts, but clear chances did not jump out at first. Bochum continued to win the decisive duels and had luck on their side in injury time when the guests hit the post.